QBs on the Q.T. this year as Pac-10's reputation takes a hit

Gather round, mascots of the Pac-10, and let's share memories of the worst quarterbacking you can recall.

You in the funny uniform — yeah, you, Oregon. You point to 1988, when Bill Musgrave broke a collarbone in midseason and the two guys backing him up, Pete Nelson and Bob Brothers, combined for five touchdowns and 21 interceptions. That's bad.

Now you, Benny. Back in the days when the Beavers were laughable, Oregon State made the transition from Dave Kragthorpe's air attack to Jerry Pettibone's wishbone, and the guys running it in 1991 were as shifty as town houses.

Your turn, Traveler. You say even USC has seen tough times? You're right. In '91, Reggie Perry threw three touchdown passes and 12 interceptions. I'll bet his parents didn't get free housing.

Everybody has a horror story to tell, including the Huskies and Cougars. Washington fans cough at the mention of Casey Paus, who in 2004 completed 42.3 percent of his passes, had five touchdowns and 17 interceptions and a rating of 81.2, or somewhere between ghastly and ghoulish.

WSU's 1994 team would have played for the national title if its offense had been as good as its defense. Unfortunately, Chad Davis quarterbacked a constipated offense and the Cougars bickered their way to the Alamo Bowl. Then, in 1998, Steve Birnbaum and Paul Mencke job-shared for 25 interceptions.

But I've got my own year in mind: This one. Never has the Pac-10 — the league that defined great quarterbacking — been as outright awful at it as in 2008.

Much of it has to do with injuries. WSU has played five quarterbacks and Washington's Jake Locker was done in September. Oregon has been through quarterbacks like jury candidates being lopped in a courtroom.

Arizona State's Rudy Carpenter is playing with a broken bone in his ankle, while it was spring injuries at UCLA that thrust Kevin Craft behind center before he was ready.

The guys around the top of the Pac-10 look better only by comparison. Oregon State's Lyle Moevao threw four first-half interceptions against WSU, one more than the Cougars have the rest of the season. Mark Sanchez of USC has been intercepted seven times, or about one a game.

Mike Bellotti, the Oregon coach, noted Tuesday that "We typically think that those with standout quarterbacks are in the driver's seat."

Well, today nobody is really in the Pac-10 driver's seat, and it's not hard to see why.

Researching QB follies of the past, I couldn't find one predominant bad year, although '91 was a consideration. Besides the troubles at OSU and USC, Oregon was plagued with injuries and used five of them. And 1999 was no NFL-combine-in-waiting, either. No doubt, the scourge of '08 looks worse against some of the bumper years:

1992: Drew Bledsoe, Mark Brunell, Rob Johnson, Steve Stenstrom, Danny O'Neil (two years before he led Oregon to the Rose Bowl). (And by the way, a gold star if you can name the pass-efficiency leader that year. Why, Grady Benton of Arizona State.)

2002: Carson Palmer, Jason Gesser, Andrew Walter, Kyle Boller, Derek Anderson.

2004: Matt Leinart, Aaron Rodgers, Kellen Clemens, Derek Anderson, Trent Edwards, Andrew Walter, Drew Olson, Alex Brink.

Nothing like that this year. If there were a logo for '08, it would be UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel, steam boiling from his ears, while Craft trots over to say that latest pick was thrown with the best of intentions.

And what's more ...

• California's remodel of medieval Memorial Stadium can't come soon enough. During heavy rains Saturday, says Bellotti, "there were actually five guys out there with pitchforks" trying to aid drainage where water pooled in an end zone. In the jerry-built, open-air press box, writers were issued towels and plastic bags to protect computers from damage, and rain shorted out a TV.

• Oregon State's quest to stay viable for the Rose Bowl race goes this week to the Rose Bowl. As a USC assistant and now OSU head coach, Mike Riley is 0-9 against UCLA.

• The Pac-10, which hasn't been worse than .500 in nonleague games since 1983, is 13-16.

• Cal, which visits USC in Saturday's marquee game, already has sustained one standard: In all seven of Jeff Tedford's seasons, it has won at least six games.

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com